What is the best NR?

[danthemusiclover]

Since I left the forum I discovered something wonderful in the world of sound, noise reduction. In order to apply that effect to my cassette tapes, I opted to purchase an AIWA with Dolby B NR. Then I saw that there was also the Dolby C, S and HX Pro category... After that I feel that the B is not good enough as the rest of the other Dolby noise reductions can be. I would like to know from someone who knows more about this topic than me, if they can tell me which Dolby is better for my recordings. . I need to choose the perfect deck.

[Porn Library]

If you're recording on a very high quality Metal Bias cassette (also known as Type IV), Dolby C is the way to go. You will have absolutely no background noise what so ever unless you listen very closely on headphones during silent places and the recording will sound nearly identical to the source...almost like a FLAC or WAV file with minimal frequency loss.

But keep in mind, if recording in C, it will always need to be played back on a deck with C. Otherwise it will sound compressed playing back with B.

If you're recording on a Chrome cassette (also known as Type II), Dolby B as you had it is the way to go as the C can make things muddy since you don't have the high range that Metal offers. If recording on a Normal bias (Type I), do not use any dolby cause it will be very muffled.

[danthemusiclover]

Thank you, I'll have it in mind. Because until now I recorded everything in Dolby B, even on tapes in normal position. Now my question is, Dolby HX Pro B NR is better than Dolby B NR?

[Psyclon]

Are you recording music to compact casettes (or reel to reel tapes) just for fun, i.e. for the sound it does or as necessity?
Because I have a weird habit of using two fantastic casette degeneration plugins to play back my MP3s with a highly customizable set of filters specially for that (nothing beets a whiff of Wow and Flutter on a piano tone!), one of them is for simulating a CC very well (including NR ) and the other one is super sophisticated for all kinds of tapes, including tape speeds and all that kind of stuff with dozens of sliders. While I do that as a weird thing to add "retroness" to my production music, is there a reason why you do that?

[danthemusiclover]

I record music on cassette tapes mainly because of the sound produced by the noise reduction, and because it is very comfortable for me to use this format. Whenever I can, I record my music on cassette, and if not, I choose to buy vinyl or a CD.

[Porn Library]

Thank you, I'll have it in mind. Because until now I recorded everything in Dolby B, even on tapes in normal position. Now my question is, Dolby HX Pro B NR is better than Dolby B NR?

There's no difference at all. They're both the exact same. HX Pro is just a slight increase in recording quality if you have one of the decks labeled HX Pro. It has nothing to do with any of the B or C noise reduction.

Dolby B was the general standard for most cassette decks back when. It wasn't even until the early 80's that C was introduced to some high end consumer home cassette decks. In the very early 90's is when it could be found on most standard decks right up till the end of cassettes in early 2000's.

But like I was mentioning before, a lot of results are based on the type of blank cassettes you are using. Metal bias is the best you can get out of a cassette and where Dolby C works best. Quality is not like a reel to reel on a cassette, but, you can get close if you record on a good cassette deck with Metal and Dolby C.

[danthemusiclover]

I appreciate that you took your time to respond to me and solve my question. Thanks